The buttons were made using a simple technique. With leftover yarn from the scarf. There should be more than enough if you have good tension.

Cut 3 lengths of yarn at around 8″
3 x 2″ diameter felt circles, or big enough to cover the buttons as pictured.

Tie knots in the centre to make a bobble. Split the yarn so you have 4 tails (see picture below) and thread each through the 4 eyes of the button.

Using small stitches, make a running stitch around circles of felt. Do not knot yet.

Pull slightly on the thread so that it creates a slight dome shape. Place in the prepared knotted wool and button. Pull the thread and make sure the thread covers the back of the button centrally. Tie off the thread after sewing over the felt and yarn to secure the back, as these will be pulled at when used.

Using the picture to help you with placement, use the tails of the buttons to tie onto the rib of the scarf. Making sure they line up with the natural holes created by your stitches.

Knitted Hair Bow

Bow

Hope you like my latest crafty project. Including the time to figure out the pattern and write it down, this took about 10 minutes. It can be attached to any kind of hair accessory base. Hair clip, band, barrettes, slide, …you get the idea.

The yarn I used was a random ball from my stash. I’m not entirely sure of the yarn type but it is very similar to kid mohair. It felts very easily, but this will only help stabilize the design.

The pattern I used is below. Let me know if you use it. I’d love to see your take on it. Btw, I use standard abbreviations in my patterns. So you can refer to any knitting magazine or book if you’re not familiar with the terms.

Kfb = Knit into the front and back of stitch. This increases your row.

On its way!

yippee.. one down!

I finally got around to finishing this bear. I’m super happy with it, and glad it has been posted out today. My son adored it and tried to cuddle it while I was still knitting! That just made me think of how I just had to get it finished in time for this weekends post. So it can be safely delivered into a child’s arms.

This is the first ‘Mother Bear Project’ Bear I’ve completed, but it’s not the last. I will knit a ‘boy’ bear next, I think. Any suggestions on the outfit would be fab!

Want to Knit-a-square?

I stumbled across this organization Knit-a-square. With our help they provide warm blankets and clothing for sick children in South Africa.

There are lots of patterns to choose from too, such as hats, vests, jumpers and pull overs. If you are very creative you can share your own pattern too.

You don’t need to know how to knit to contribute to this project. If you have any old wool clothing or find any in the charity shops, you can felt them and cut the 8×8″ squares out of the felted fabric. Just by washing and using a dryer you can felt a knitted garment. This mats the fibres so when you cut the fabric it won’t fray or unravel.

It doesn’t matter what type of yarn you have. But take a look at their advice on what to use if you want to contribute to a heart warming cause.

Let me know if you have contributed already. If you have any pictures to share of your donations I would be happy to add them to this blog post!

Enhancing a simple knit scarf

Click to enlarge

A little project I was asked to do was to jazz up this hand knit scarf. A few sequins and beads later I came up with this. It’s quite a trend to have sequins sewn onto knitted accessories so for sure this is not ‘new’. But if you do this yourself it will definitely be unique.

To do this technique tie your sewing thread to the scarf where you would like the sequin. Thread your sequin and bead onto the needle and push to the fabric. Thread the needle back through the sequin and tie off below. Try not to go too deep through the scarf as you don’t want the thread showing on the other side. If your sequins aren’t too spaced you can do more than one at a time by threading your cotton through the scarf so that it can’t be seen. Do several of these and tie off securely.

Add some tassel with leftover yarn from your project. Add in a bit of coloured yarn to tie in the colours and you have a completely overhauled scarf!

Knit your own case

FUJIFILM FINEPIX Case

A cute little case for your Fuji camera. This only takes a couple hours at the most, including sewing on some decoration and adding the snap fasteners.

The stitches you need to know are casting on, knit, purl and casting off. If you don’t know how to do any of these stitches I advise you to search for a video tutorial. YouTube is usually a good source for this.

This is an ideal gift because you can use left over yarns and spare sequins and beads from other projects to decorate.

Pink Striped Matinée Coat

Matinee Coat

Finally finished this awesome matinée coat. I posted about the yarn previously. Here are some images of the coat close up. Not sure if I shall do the bonnet yet but I will probably do the mittens soon.

The King Cole pattern used is pictured below. It just shows you can make an old pattern really modern with great choice of yarn. I was really pleased that this knitted up as stripes as I have a fixation with stripes. Can’t get enough!

‘…because we care’

Unfortunately, it appears this charity no longer exists. Please check official sources before thinking of contributing.
Angelbear is a non-profit organisation which is the notion that all children in a vulnerable position should own a teddy bear.

The lovely lady who runs this heart-felt project is very helpful when you ask about the bear and it’s pattern. If you need any help, she has a tutorial page that shows you all the basic stitches you need to complete the bear. But rest assured this is a suitable pattern for a beginner and knits up pretty quick.

I felt that I MUST make a teddy bear to contribute to this goal. She’s provides a pattern in which each bear should be based on. But if you have the ability you can change the pattern textures to any you like. This sort of thing really appeals to me so I took it upon myself to create a teddy bear with lots of pattern and texture. I wrote this pattern down. You can find it here. Feel free to use this pattern for non-profit and is suitable for this project too.

Visit the Angelbear website for more information on how to get involved.

All you need is some double knitting yarn in a couple of colours where possible and a pair of 4mm needles, a darning needle and polyester toy stuffing. Non of these items are all that expensive and most crafters will have most if not all of these items already. Just make sure they are new or freshly laundered

An ideal way to use up any leftover yarns you have and put a smile on a child’s face, which is worth more than anything!

‘Make a bear. Make a difference’

Mother Bear Project

The Mother Bear Project is a non-profit organisation intent on bringing hope and comfort to children, primarily affected by HIV/Aids all over the world. Many will be orphans. These children will be in need of love and comfort and will receive a hand knitted or crocheted bear. Click here to see pictures.

This simple act of giving a teddy bear to a child who has nothing else in the world is truly heart-warming and sends them a message that they are cared for, and that they do matter. I have recently requested a pattern from this wonderful project and can’t wait to start. I urge you to do the same. Please visit the website for more details.

All bears are created from the same pattern. Each pattern you order includes a tag for you to sign and attach to your bear before sending. Once they receive your bear they will sew on a red felt heart before shipping it out to a needy child.

I’ll be posting my contribution as soon as it is made so please subscribe to this blog to receive updates!

Even if you can’t knit or crochet. You can give by sending supplies or donating time or money to this organisation.

To date, 49,650 bears have been sent to children affected by HIV/AIDS through their help!

Awesome Stripes

Hayfield - Bonus Fantasy DK

I wanted to share with you this awesome double knitting yarn. I wanted something that would be interesting to knit so I chose this ball of wool. To my delight it knits up really great with the pattern I have.

The pictures below show you my progress. I will be posting the finished pieces at a later date. I have a coat, bonnet and mittens to complete.

Choosing a more interesting yarn has kept me focused on this long term project. Don’t be put off by how many colours are in this. Definitely will try multi-coloured yarns again!

Flower Embroidered Mittens

They are a charity called ‘Bundles of Love’. They collect and create, handmade and bought baby items to help Minnesota families with sick babies. They package up bundles of clothing and baby essentials and give them to those in need.

These mittens were finished with an embroidered flower motif and blanket stitch edging.

Garter Stitch Bib

Ellie's Bib

Created using yarn leftovers, this bib is as easy as they come. I wanted to make something that would finish quickly as I haven’t knitted for a while. Still being a beginner I didn’t want to overwhelm myself. I embroidered the front with left over wool from my stash. I used DK and 4mm needles. You can get this pattern from ‘Simply Knitting’ Magazine, issue 64 March 2010.

I created the embroidered design myself and used a blanket stitch as a decorative edge. You could do the same using the template below. Simply print out to size and pin to the garment and use back stitch or split stitch to outline the design. Fill the flower using laid stitches from the centre out.